H-1B visas : 7 things that the latest data reveals

The US government received over 3,36,000 petitions for H-1B visas

H-1B visas: 7 things that the latest data reveals
The US government agency US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released data on the usage of H-1B visas. The data reveals some H-1B visa trends for the year.

H-1B visa petitions filed see a drop
In 2017, the US government received over 3,36,000 petitions for H-1B visas. These include both extensions and new applications. Of these, the government has reportedly approved about 1,97,129 visas at the end of June 2017. This number shows a drop vis-a-vis the applications received last year. In 2016, the government got a total of 399,349 visa petitions.

Some 58% petitions approved in 2017 (so far)
Data reveals that a little over 58% of the applications received have been approved. The number is considerably lower than that of the year 2016, when it stood at 87%. However, according to a report in Bloomberg, more petitions could get approved as the year progresses. The report quotes USCIS spokesperson Katie Tichacek.

Average salary of H-1B petitions stood at $92,317 in 2017
According to the USCIS data, the average compensation of H-1B visa holders in the year up to June 2017 stood at $92,317 (per annum). This has significantly increased since the year 2007 when the average salary was $68,159.

Most petitions filed by Indians; but the no. has fallen vs 2016
The vast majority of H-1B visa petitions filed this year are from individuals in India. There were over 2,47,000 petitions from Indians in 2017, down from over 3,00,000 in the previous year. India is followed by China, Canada and South Korea (in the same order).

China follows India in terms of visa applications
In terms of the number of H-1B applications received between 2007 and 2017, China is a distant second after India with 296,313 H-1B applications.

Most H-1B-visa beneficiaries in 25-34 age group
The data also reveals that the majority of H-1B visa beneficiaries in the last 11 years (2007-2017) have been in the age group of 25-34 years.

Majority H-1B visa recipients from IT field
The report says that the majority of the beneficiary of H-1B visas are from the computer-related occupations. The computer field is followed by architecture, engineering and surveying (318,670); education (244,000); administrative specialisations (245,000) and medicine and health (185,000).